Diving into familiar territory, like the Dunkirk retreat, issues
5039-5042 also feature many surprises like the air battles fought over the
Burmese jungle, the battle torn streets of Madrid during the Spanish Civil War,
and even, perhaps, a glimpse of the future...
5039: Home of Heroes:
Saved in Time!
After being struck by lightning while parachute training,
Frankie Walsh had a supreme advantage in the Second World War: he could see the
future! Alan Hedben’s latest Commando story is a mixture of action battles and
Science Fiction intrigue. Frankie has premonitions of plane crashes and German
ambushes, allowing him to save the day in the nick of time. But how are these forewarnings
possible? And who is the mysterious man who seems to be behind them?
A classic Commando pairing, Morhain and Rodriguez deliver
the interior artwork, using jagged panels to signify the transition to
Frankie’s premonitions, the serrated edges filling the reader with unease as
the potential and deadly fates of our heroes are revealed. And, wrapping up
this neat little package is Ian Kennedy’s cover, showing a mysterious figure
garbed in a suitable Science Fiction get up, while keeping the Commando theme
in check with planes and parachutes falling disconnected around him.
|Story | Alan Hebden| Art | Morhain & Rodriguez | Cover
| Ian Kennedy |
5040: Gold Collection
Hoodoo Mission
“Then came then savage confusion of the British retreat to
Dunkirk…”
A Dispatch Rider during the British retreat, Mike “Wheels”
Riley left his post to save injured men on the road to Dunkirk. But they were
already gone. When Riley catches up with his C.O. he’s told more men died
because of his absence. Tormented by guilt, Riley transfers to the Tanks Corps.
in North Africa, but it seems that the ghosts of his past still haunt him in
this Gold issue classic from Feldwick.
The interior tank shots from Biesla really stand out,
captivating the reader in the dark claustrophobia of metal and machine, as well
as the men who rode in them. Meanwhile, Ken Barr’s thrilling cover is exactly
the opposite, showing Riley as completely exposed and vulnerable, fleeing a
firing Junker as he races towards us on his trusty motorbike.
|Story | Feldwick | Art | Bielsa | Cover | Ken Barr |
Originally Commando No 350 (August 1968)
5041: Action and Adventure:
The Reporters!
Focusing on the Spanish Civil War, ‘The Reporters’ looks at
the intermediate period between both World Wars, as tension in Europe rises.
Here, while three internal armies fight to gain control of Spain, English
reporter Pete Beckford and photographer Owen Carver try to cover all sides,
interviewing the different factions. But, in a metafictional twist, Ferg
Handley’s story becomes less about the actual war, and more about the imposed
objectivism of those involved in documenting war, as bias and opinion are repressed…even
in the heat of battle.
With loving attention given to the Spanish street signs and
graffiti in the background, you know that Madrid native Carlos Pino truly
enjoyed illustrating this issue, and his cover is equally dynamic, centring on
both our heroes and their weapons of choice; the purple of the title
beautifully mimicking the purple of the torn flag behind them.
|Story | Ferg Handley | Art | Carlos Pino | Cover | Carlos
Pino|
5042: Silver Collection
Squadron Pride
As expected in an issue titled ‘Squadron Pride’, Ian Clark’s
story focuses on an ensemble rag-tag team of pilots and ground crew, determined
to prove their worth fighting the Japanese in Burma.
With search lights criss-crossing in the background, illuminating
smoke, fog and the action of the aerial battle, Ian Kennedy successfully
manages to bring colour to this nocturnal scene, the blues and greens
complimenting the colour of the aircraft, while contrasting the red and orange
of the flames engulfing them. And
featuring such terrific night battles, Jose Maria Jorge’s interior artwork
really shines in this issue. The black mass of night sky around the lone
Brewsters really adds to the tension, where anything at all could be lurking in
that blackness – and it often is!
|Story | Ian Clark | Art |Jose Maria Jorge | Cover | Ian
Kennedy |
Originally Commando No 2645 (March 1993)
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